KINGSTON, N.Y. -- Legendary Kingston High baseball coach Ed Mills died Thursday morning following a life filled with professional success and positive influences on the many who knew him.

Mills was struck down by a seriously debilitating disease that robbed him of things that brought him joy for more than 65 years. The effects of frontal lobe dementia brought dramatic physical and mental changes to a man known for robust health, sharp wit and passion for athletics and life in general.

"It's a relief," son T.D. Mills said. "We don't have to see him suffering any more.

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"He had been getting progressively worse, but he was significantly worse from Monday to Wednesday this week."

Calling hours and funeral arrangements are expected to be announced Friday.

T.D. Mills, who coaches baseball at Wallkill, and Kingston coach Mike Groppuso launched a tournament in honor of Ed Mills that was held in April. Groppuso played for Mills, his uncle, in the late 1980s, then earned All-America honors at Seton Hall University before playing 10 years of professional baseball.

A few years later, 1994 Kingston graduate T.D. Mills played second base for his father. Players never had to wonder what Ed Mills was thinking.

"He was tough on everybody," T.D. Mills said. "I'm pretty sure he was toughest on me.

"People came back years later and said he made a difference in their lives. He did things his way and didn't care what people thought."

Marist softball coach Joe Ausanio played for the Tigers a decade before T.D. Mills and lived the dream of pitching in the major leagues for the Yankees in the mid-90s.

"Eddie was very intense (as a coach)," Ausanio said. "He was always pushing me to be better.

"He definitely had a profound effect on my life, I'm really sad about his passing."

Ausanio recalled coming out second best as a starting pitcher in trying to persuade Mills not to bring in a reliever.

"I remember one day I was pitching OK," Ausanio said. "He came out to the mound and took me out of the game.

"I was pissed because I was trying to talk him into letting me stay in. I was shocked when he gave me the coach's award at the end of the season.

"I remember saying I didn't think he liked me."

Over the years, Ausanio saw how proud Mills was of his career. They enjoyed playing golf together at Twaalfskill and talking baseball.

"I think Eddie instilled in me an attitude that, even if you're not at your best, to give it your best," Ausanio said. "He would say give me 100 percent of the 80 percent you got total.

"I tell that to my players to make the most of what you have today. You definitely carry that over into your regular life."

Mike Juhl became a pitching ace under Mills during the same era Groppuso played. After his minor league career ended, Juhl established a strong program as head coach at SUNY New Paltz and now works as a scout for the St. Louis Cardinals.

"There's never any doubt in my mind that Ed Mills influenced my coaching at New Paltz," Juhl said. "I had a four-year player who later coached with me for a year email me condolences because he knew how much Ed meant to me.

"I would quote him in practice."

Juhl stopped to see Mills in early June when Kingston was on the threshold of winning the state championship.

"It was very hard to see him," Juhl said. "It was emotional for me after I left.

"I thought it was important because he was so instrumental in my development as a baseball player. We spent an hour and a half together just reminiscing."

A happy moment came with Juhl showing Mills the ring he received after the Cardinals won the 2011 World Series.

Prior to playing baseball for Mills, Juhl met him in his sophomore year as a football player. Mills was an assistant on head coach Rick Clausi's staff.

"I remember the very first baseball meeting that I ever had where I got to speak with him," Juhl said. "I was immediately aware of two things.

"He was firm, and he was very intelligent about the game of baseball."

Mills motivated players in many ways.

"I prayed to stay on his good side," Juhl said. "He was so passionate about baseball.

"It wasn't a fear factor. I just didn't want to let him down.

"The result was he brought out the best in a lot of baseball players."

Kingston athletic director Glen Maisch just missed playing for Mills. After college, Maisch returned to his alma mater to become a colleague of Mills on the football coaching staff.

"I got to watch him coach," Maisch said. "He had such an impact on many people's lives.

"The passion he had was such you couldn't tell he liked baseball more than football. He had a passion for anything he coached."

Life lessons always accompanied athletic instruction for Mills.

"He taught much more than sports," Maisch said. "It all came from the heart."

In his early years at Kingston, Mills coached junior varsity baseball and was a football assistant under head coach Tony Badalato.

"Ed was my first choice as assistant coach in 1971," Badalato recalled. "We became the best of friends."

Badalato gave up coaching to become athletic director and remained in that post until his retirement in 2002.

"Every person he knew was touched in a special way," Badalato said. "He was loved by everyone in Kingston.

"He gave so much to the community. He loved the kids he coached and loved his family."

Tom Loughlin interacted with Mills on three levels.

"He was my JV (baseball) coach in his first year at Kingston," Loughlin said. "Everything he did, you learned something.

"The dynamic changed from player to working for him when I was the JV baseball coach. Then it changed again when I worked with him every day (as a physical education teacher) his last 13 years at the high school."

Loughlin cherished his friendship with Mills, wife Ginger and their children.

"Ed retired and did his family stuff, but then he got sick," Loughlin said. "It was tough to see because he was such a strong and healthy man.

"For his immediate family, it was so much tougher."

Fond memories of Mills abound for Loughlin.

"I remember standing next to him in class with him exercising like a champ," Loughlin said. "He was in his 50s and you would never know it.

"There are so many stories I could tell them forever. It wasn't like every day, it was every period he would always have something going."

Mills maintained a high energy level and never compromised his work ethic.

"It was inspirational to be with him," Loughlin said. "His last day of teaching was like his first day.

"He didn't mail it in ever."

Because players embraced his all-out philosophy, Mills had no boundaries in what he would provide in return.

"He mowed the field one day because the custodians didn't do it," Loughlin said. "He thought the players deserved the best conditions possible because they had worked hard for him."